THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



89 



Nevertheless we could not find any young Ttiil- 

 ians lirhisiing in honey till tin* .^Olii, tlioucli Ave 

 examined about twoniv individuals daily during 

 tliat time. Only on the first of Ju]}^ a considera- 

 l)lo number of Italians brought in pollen and 

 hoiiei/. Hence, leavingout ol" aeeounl the three 

 ])ollen-bearing bees seen in the oOlli, the young 

 Italians first licgan to gather lioney and jiolk'n 

 from the surrounding pasturage on the Iweu- 

 ti(^th day after tludr l>irlh. 



This result, also, does not correspond ■with 

 any ])reviously obtained. 



1. In my three previous experiments, the 

 young bees frequented the pasturage ou the 

 sixteenth day. 



2. Sir. Ilopf assured me that in his apiary the 

 sixteenth day always proved to be the first on 

 Avhich the young bees went honey-gathering. 



8. According to Dr. Donholl", {Bienenzeitung^ 

 IS.")'), page 1G3,) the bees first gathered honey 

 and pollen on the nineteenth day. 



4. Botlner saw a few yciung bees bringing in 

 honey and pollen ou the twelfth day, but not 

 in numbers till on tin; thirteenth and fourteenth. 



5. Tlie Novice of Coblentz found a k\v young 

 bees bringing in pollen on the twelfth day, but 

 usually not before iho fourteenth. 



6. Fisher once saw j'ouug bees bringing in 

 pollen on the tenth day. 



7. Count Stosch states (B, Z., 1800, page 278,) 

 "a bee must be at least iiDO weeks old before she 

 goes out foraging." On page 285, he names the 

 sixteenth day. 



8. When Schiller says that it requires no 

 further proof that the bees fly out for purifica- 

 tion the daj' after thej^ are born, and thence- 

 forward regularly in quest of pasturage, it only 

 requires no further proof to show that he is a 

 poor observer. 



9. Wittenhagcn remarks that "at the average 

 age of fourteen days the bees commence regular 

 labor." 



10. Dzierzon's casual statements relating to 

 this jioiut, are too vague to be taken into ac- 

 count. 



According to the foregoing, I conceive that 

 for the present, and until better advised, we 

 niaj' assume that ordinarily the bee leaves for 

 forauing on the sixteenth day. From this, ac- 

 cording to locality, some important practical 

 considerations follow. In most sections of the 

 country the supply of pasturage fails prior to the j 

 10th of August — that is, after that date hives 

 rarely increase in weight. Now, if we assume 

 nineteen dai/a iis the term retjuired in summer 

 for tlie perfect development of a worker bee 

 from the egg till it leaves the cell, thirty-five 

 ihiys elapse before it becomes a iierfecth' active 

 honey-gathering insect. Cousequently"^iu such 

 a district, all the eggs laid after tlie sixtli of July 

 Avill produce bees that cannot aid in any pro- 

 ductive labor in tluit year. Hence the truly 

 intelligent rational bee keeper should diligently 

 endeavor to have only as many Avorkers bred 

 after the twenty-fourth of June, as will suffice 

 to keep the hive populous enough for wintering 

 well. 



It is important to know at what age precisely 

 bees ordinarily commence active labors. I 

 would, therefore, request the correspondents of 



the Bienemeitung who desire to advance ra- 

 tional bee-culture, to institute numerous and 

 exact observations next year, so as to elucidate 

 this subject more fully. 



Piaclice, unless based at all points on correct 

 theory— or, if I may so express it, practice that 

 is not truly applied theory., is mere bee-keeping 

 relying on good laek. Correct practice can only 

 emanate from correct Iheoiy ; and he who is 

 either too dull or loo indolent to study the theory 

 so as to comprehend it clearly and be able to 

 apply it, may keep bees, but knows nothing of 

 bee culture. The more clearly theory in all the 

 minutest details is evolved and developed, the 

 more definite and precise will the praciice 

 become, and the less necessary will it be to pro- 

 pound rules. He who is thoroughly grounded 

 in the theorj^ will always know how best to pro- 

 ceed in practice; Avhereas he that is Avholly or 

 partially unacquainted with the theory will 

 scarcely ever know how to proceed, though he 

 be furnished Avith a volume of empirical instruc- 

 tions. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Italian Bees. 



Doctors differ quite as much in relation to 

 Italian bees as sick patients. It is true that in 

 most respects all agree that the pure Italian 

 bees are superior to the natives, but all depends 

 on their purity; and here is Avhere the "dilfereuce 

 comes in " One dealer in I aliau bees says 

 "the workers are distinguished from the natives 

 by ayelloAV band around the abdomen;" another 

 says "three yellow bands or rings;" a tliird 

 makes the markings of the queen a test of 

 puiity; a fourth tests the purity of a queen by 

 her progeny; and a fifth makes the very amia- 

 ble disposition of the Avorkers, or the "impecca- 

 bility of temper," a test of pmiijr A person 

 entirely unacquainted Avith Italian bees, after 

 hearing the dilferent opinions of these doctors, 

 if he purchased a queen parity guaranteed, 

 Avould hardly know Avhere to look for a relial)le 

 test. In fact, Avill these dillerent parties Avho 

 are engaged in the sale of queens purity guar- 

 anteed, forward another if the progeny of a 

 queen sold d-oes not come fully up to iheir own 

 standard? For instance, suppose a queen is 

 purchased of a party claiming that the queen 

 progeny of a pure que n should be duplicates 

 of the mother, and the purchaser finds in rear- 

 ing (iueens artificially early in the spring or late 

 in the fall, that they diller very much in color, 

 Avill another queen be forAvardedV Or Avill the 

 purchaser learn for the first time that the queen 

 is not expected to duplicate herself except in 

 the SAvarming season? Again, suppose a queen 

 is purchased of a party claiming three yclloAV 

 bands as a test, and her Avorker>ilo not all shoAV 

 three yelloAV bands, Avill the purchaser be sup- 

 plied Avith another, or Avill he be told that it is 

 only Avhen the bees are young and the abdomen 

 distended, that the three yellow bands can be 

 seen? And if so, is this the fact? One Avriter 

 for the Ameuican Bee Jouu.nal claims that 

 they should sIioav lliree yellow bands under all 

 circumstances, Avhether old or young, abdomen 



